harris



Jan. 31, 1956 s. HARR|S 2,732,893

EXTENSIBLE LINK STRUCTURE Filed July 10, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 26 I 45 24 17M /7 17 7 17 I7 27 I I :9 Z9

25 I8 is 1a 1a l4 Y 4/ 1 IN VEN TOR.

MJM,

ATTORNEY Jan. 31, 1956 D. s. HARRIS ,893

EXTENSIBLE LINK STRUCTURE Filed July 10, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY EXTENSIBILE LINK STRUCTURE 7 Donald S. Harris, New Castle, Ind, assignor to New Castle Products,tlnc., New Castle, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application July 10, 1952, SerialNo. 298,081

- 9 Claims. (Cl. 1611-84) This invention relates to the crossed and end elements of a lazy tongs structure of the type used in folding doors. It is important that such structure be strong and light in weight and to this end the elements are made of thin metal stamped and formed into U-shaped cross-sections at their mid-portions.

Duplicate elements when crossed and pivoted at'their centers and hinged at their ends to like elements .form a very sturdy structure to which a covering of .fabric may be attached to fold and unfold with the folding and unfolding of the lazy tongs structure. g

The opposite ends of the crossed elements are offset into parallel planes spaced apart a short distance .so that the inner fold of the fabric covering will have sufiicient space between collapsed elements to prevent sharp creasing at the inner folds.

This invention is illustrated 'in the accompanying draw ings, in which Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through a door taken just above one of the collapsed lazy tongs structures.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through a portion :of a door taken just above one .of the extended sections of the lazy tongs structure.

Fig. 3 illustrates the blank from which one full length element of the lazy tongs structure is formed.

Fig. 4 is a .top view of one full length element of the structure.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the element shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of two crossed similar elements, one of which is reversed in position with respect to the other, and

Fig. 7 is a perspective of several of the elements in assembled position.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, a vertical end post 10 is suitably attached to one vertical wall 11 of an opening to be closed by a folding door. The folding door is constructed of half lazy tongs sections 13, 14 and 15, 16 and full lazy tongs sections 17 and 18, duplicated as desired,

pivotally connected together by vertical pintles 19 to adjacent similar lazy tongs sections 17, 18.

The half lazy tongs elements 13 and 14 are pivoted at 24 to an angle hinge plate 25 suitably attached to rectangular vertical column 26, and the half lazy tongs elements and 16 are pivoted at 27 to angle hinge plate 28 suitably attached to rectangular vertical column 29.

A covering of fabric or other flexible material 31 is carried by the lazy tongs structure and the rectangular columns 26 and 29, the attachment to the lazy tongs structure being preferably by means of fasteners passed through holes in a part of the cover material and through holes 32 in the lazy tongs sections, and the attachment to the columns 26 and 29 being preferably by cement.

The full length lazy tongs sections 17 and 18 may be exactly alike and each formed from fiat metal bent in a die to form a channel portion having a web 23 and having parallel horizontal flanges 20, which not only stiffen the sections but provide metal for the aligned holes 35 which United States Patent 0 form bearings for the pintles '19 on which the crossed sections swing.

Notwithstanding the fact that the web 23 lies on one side of the pintle 19,the lazy tongs element .is so formed that parallel vertical planes lying equal distances on each side of the pintle 19 fall within the end portions 18 of the lazy tongs element.

The ends of each lazy tongs section are curled oppositely to form hinge eyes 37 to receive the rods 21 and 22. The lower ends'38 (Fig. 5) of the hinge eyes 37 are aligned with the upper surfaces of the flanges 20 and with the fastening holes 32 so thatwhen two sections are reversedand pivoted together as shown in Fig. 6, the holes 32 of the two pivoted sections will be aligned with one another, and the attaching holes through the covering material will be the same distance from the edge.

When the lazy tongs of my invention are used for a folding doorstructure, it is desirable to prevent the pivoted sections from straightening out beyond a predetermined position. This is accomplished by providing abutments 41 which engage one another when the sections arestraightened to the desired limit as shown in Fig. 2.

If desired, the .lazy tongs sections may be provided with stififening ribs 42.

Since the opposite ends of each lazy tongs section lie in planes parallel to but offset from one another, the collapsed lazy tongs provides space between adjacent sections in which the inner folds of the flexiblecovering material will lie without being crushed or folded too sharply.

While .I have shown and described my device in detail, I do .not wish to be unduly limited thereto, many modifications being possible within the scope and purview of my invention.

I claim: r

.1. A .foldable linkage including a sequentially connected series of full length rhinge plates arranged in pairs, the plates of each pair havinga common pivotal connection midway between the ends, each plate having an offsetting portion in the .region of the pivot with the ends of the plate lying .in parallel spaced apart planes,,integral upper and lower flat flanges lying in parallel planes normal to the planes of the plates extending laterally in the same direction for the full length of the edges of the offsetting portion of the plate and for a short distance along the edges of the end portions thereof and provided with aligned openings for the pivotal connections, the plates of each pair crossing one another with the lower face of the lower flange of one plate lying against the upper face of the upper flange of the other plate.

2. A foldable linkage including a sequentially con nected series of full length hinge plates arranged in pairs, the plates of each pair having a common pivotal connection midway between the ends, each plate having a substantially flat oflsetting portion in the region of the pintle with the ends of the plate lying in parallel spaced apart planes, two flat flanges extending laterally in parallel planes and in the same direction for the full length of the edges of the offsetting portion of the plate and for a distance along the end portions thereof and provided with aligned openings for the pivotal connections whereby the flanges stiffen the plates at their central portions.

3. A foldable linkage including a sequentially connected series of full length hinge plates arranged in pairs, the plates of each pair having a common pivotal connection midway between the ends and having two hinge eyes at each of their ends spaced apart to receive snugly between them one of the hinge eyes of the next sequen planes and in thesame direction from the edges of the offsetting portion of the plate and'provided with aligned openings for pivotal connections, the inner ends of corresponding hinge eyes at opposite ends of the plate being aligned with the outer surface'of one'midway flange, a flexible cover for the linkage, each section of the linkage being provided with holes in line with the said inner ends of the hinge eyes so that when two like links are reversibly pivoted together, the holes in the'two links are aligned for fastening the cover to the linkage.

4. A lazy tongs link formed from sheet metal, the ends of the link being offset into different parallel planes and provided with stiffening ribs extending substantially throughout the lengths of the offset ends, the offsetting portion of the link being formed into -a U-section providing parallel flange members and an intervening web, the flange members extending in planes normal to the plane of the intervening web and of a length to overlap the positions of the ends of'the ribs so that the ribs and flanges cooperate to stiffen the lazy tongs link, the flange members being perforated to form aligned bearings.

5. A lazy tongs link formed'from sheet metal, the ends of the link being offset into different parallel planes, the offsetting portion of the link being formed into a U-section providing parallel flanges and an intervening Web, the flanges being perforated to form aligned bearings located between the parallel planes of the offset ends, each end of the link being provided with two hinge eyes having inner ends aligned with the outer surfaces of the flanges whereby links may be connected together to form a lazy tongs.

6. A lazy tongs link having a central spacing portion of channel section from which the opposite end portions of the link extend in spaced apart parallel planes, the web of the central spacing portion extending at obtuse angles to the end portions of the link, and the flanges extending the full length of the spacing portion and for at least some distance along the end portions.

7. A pair of crossed lazy tongs links each having end portions lying in spaced apart parallel planes and a central channel portion integral with the end portions and extending angularly between them, the flanges of the channel portions being perforated, a pintle extending through the perforations to pivot the members together adjacent one another, the flanges extending beyond the angular portion to stiffen the members at the angles between the angularly l 4 extending portion and the end portions, a flexible covering foldable between the ends of adjacent pivoted links, the length and angularity of the central channel portion being sufficient that the planes of the end portions of adjacent lazy tongs are spaced sufficiently that the covering material is not pinched between the adjacent tong ends when the tongs are collapsed.

8. A lazy tongs link formed from sheet metal, the ends of the link being offset into different parallel planes and being provided with stiffening portions extending laterally from the planes of the end portions and for a substantial part of the length thereof, the offsetting portion of the link being formed into a U section providing parallel flange members and an intervening web, the flange members extending in planes normal to the plane of the intervening web and of a length to overlap the positions of the ends of the stiffening portions so that the stiffening portions and flanges cooperate to stiffen the lazy tongs link, the flange members being perforated to form aligned bearings.

9. A lazy tongs link having its ends offset into spaced apart parallel planes, the offsetting part of the link being provided'with parallel flanges and an intervening web, the flanges being perforated midway between the ends of the link to form aligned pintle bearings, the distance between the outside of the flanges at the pintle bearings being equal to substantially one-third of the width of the end portions of the link, the parallel flanges being connected with the offset end portions by non-parallel sloping flanges tapering in width and spreading apart and for a short distance along the edges of the offset portions of the link whereby the link is stiffened against both horizontal and vertical bending at-the mecting'areas between the offsetting and the offset portions of the link.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,722,156 ,Paulson July 23, 1929 1,878,034 Vansant Sept. 20, 1932 2,000,541 Van Note May 7, 1935 2,373,146 Shearer Apr. 10, 1945 2,512,736 Brenner et a1. June 27, 1950 2,584,111 Brenner et a1 Feb. 5, 1952 

